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Hiroshima mayor to take part in U.N. working group meeting in Geneva

by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer

On April 19, it was learned that Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui will take part in the second meeting of the United Nations working group on nuclear disarmament, which opens in Geneva on May 2. Mr. Matsui is expected to appeal for a legal ban on nuclear weapons at the meeting so the wish of the people of Hiroshima can be reflected in the group’s report.

The meeting will be held at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva from May 2 to 13. The member nations will discuss such topics as a legal framework to realize a world free of nuclear arms. This discussion will serve to develop a report and recommendation that the group intends to finalize at its third meeting in August.

Mr. Matsui will reportedly visit Europe from the end of April to early May. He is scheduled to attend the first half of the U.N. working group’s meeting and make a presentation as president of Mayors for Peace. He will also be involved in discussions with the members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been working to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The U.N. working group on nuclear disarmament was established in response to a resolution adopted by the U.N. General Assembly last year. The group’s first meeting took place this past February. However, the five major nuclear powers did not take part in the February meeting, contending that the non-nuclear nations, which advocate legally outlawing nuclear weapons, are seeking to lead this discussion by focusing on the inhumanity of nuclear arms. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japanese government, which attended the group’s first meeting, will participate in the second meeting, too.

(Originally published on April 20, 2016)

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